statement of faith

Core Beliefs

Calvary Murrieta holds to the following statements; these statements should serve as a guide to understanding what we believe. The topics here provide only a brief summary and should not be taken as our complete belief structure. The regular teachings of our senior pastor give a more complete understanding of these statements.

The Scripture

The Bible was written by men given by the Holy Spirit to human writers, and is God's revelation of Himself to mankind. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, truth without any mixture of error in its original texts, and salvation for its end. All scripture is totally true and trustworthy, and pertains to all things regarding life and godliness.  
Ps. 19:7-11  |  2 Tim. 3:15-17  |  2 Pt. 1:3

god

There is one and only one living and true God who is sovereign, and the creator of all things. He eternally exists as three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and each of these persons is fully God and are united as one.  
Gen. 1:26  |  Dt. 6:4  |  Mt. 28:19  |  Ps. 45:6-7

God the father

God is called the Father because He is the Father over all creation. He is also Father by intimate relationship. He is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and He is the Father of all who believe in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.  
Eph. 3:14-15  |  Ps. 103:13  |  Eph. 1:3  |  Jn. 1:12

god the son

Jesus Christ was fully God, and became fully man in one person, and will be so forever. He created all things with the Father and has existed always. He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He perfectly upheld the divine law by His obedience to it, and in His substitutionary death on the cross, He made provision for the redemption of men from sin.  
Lk. 1:35  |  Jn. 1:1  |  Jn. 1:14  |  Jn. 3:16  |  Jn. 3:34-35  |  Jn. 14:31

GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, fully divine. He exalts Christ. He manifests the active presence of God in the world, and especially in the church. He convicts men of sin, of righteousness and of judgment. He leads all mankind in what is true and empowers the believer and the church in worship, discipleship, and service.  
Is. 59:21  |  Jn. 14:17  |  Jn. 14:26  |  Jn. 16:8

MAN

God created human beings male and female as His unique and crowning work of creation. By mankind’s own choosing he rebelled against God and brought sin into the human race. The value, worth, and sacredness of human personality is evident in that God created man in His own image, and in that Christ died for man; therefore, we believe that every person possesses dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love.  
Gen. 1:26-27  |  Rom. 5:12  |  Jn. 3:16

THE GOSPEL

We believe that the essence of the gospel is an understanding that we are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe; yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.

We also believe that the gospel of Jesus is demonstrated through His life, death, burial, resurrection, and teachings. He taught that He will redeem us, He will renew us, bring us into obedience, and ultimately He will restore us to His eternal dwelling place. And He chooses us to join Him in inviting all others to follow this same pattern that He set forth.  
Mk. 6:1,15  |  Jn. 12:32  |  Jn. 14:6  |  1 Cor. 15:1-4

SALVATION

The resulting work of the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross brought salvation to the world, and is a gift of God redeeming us from our sin and reconciling us to our God. Jesus came to earth and accomplished salvation for all who would believe. All who turn from their sin and believe on Jesus receive this gift of salvation. As a result of this faith, all His followers will seek to be like Jesus, live like Jesus, and love like Jesus.  
Jn. 5:24  |  Jn. 8:31  |  Rom. 5:9-10  |  Eph. 2:9,10

THE CHURCH

The church is both local and Universal. The Universal Church is the community of all true believers for all time. The local church is a faith filled community of worshipers who are united as an intentional community of disciples who are learning and living out the gospel together.  
Acts 2:42  |  Heb. 10:25  |  Eph. 5:25  |  Rev. 5:9-10  |  Heb. 12:23

BAPTISM & COMMUNION

Baptism is the public declaration of a believer’s faith, pursuing obedience to the teachings of Jesus, and sharing in Christ’s burial and resurrection. We believe it symbolizes death to your old life and announces your new life in Christ, which celebrates your inclusion into God’s family.
Mt. 28:19  |  Acts 8:36-38  |  Rom. 6:3,4

The bread and cup of Communion is remembered and celebrated when we look back to Jesus’ life, death, burial, and resurrection. We look inward by examining our own heart in light of the cross, and look forward to drinking the cup new with Him in His Father’s Kingdom.
1 Cor. 11:23-26  |  Lk. 22:17-19  |  Mt. 26:29

MISSIONS

We believe all followers of Jesus will commit to His instructions, by living intentionally in their participation of the mission of Christ to make disciples who in turn make disciples of all nations. Our passion and ideal is to go to where the gospel is not being communicated by a local church. We pursue authentic relationships with sensitivity and awareness of all culture and customs. We believe the Bible instructs Jesus’ disciples to model Christ’s love, humility, and mercy, which demonstrate the gospel with our words and our lives.
Rev. 5:9-10  |  Mt. 28:19-20  |  1 Thess. 2:8  |  Rom. 15:20

FAMILY

We believe the family is unique in its ability to communicate many of the attributes of God. The family was created by God for the benefit of man and communicates the intimacy, nurturing, obedience, and permanency of the relationship that we have with God. Man was given stewardship over it and is the essential building block of human society.  
Gen. 2:24  |  Is. 54:5  |  Eph. 1:5

Marriage is the union of one man and one woman who will live bound not by contract alone, but by a commitment in His love that should not be broken. We believe that men and women are opposite and equal to each other, and that marriage is before God, your family and all the main institutions of society, with a promise from each other to be loving, faithful, and true. The marriage union is a permanent promise that extends into the future.  
Gen. 2:18  |  Mt. 19:8  |  Eph. 5:31

THE RETURN OF JESUS

The second coming of Jesus is the hope and reminder that God is faithful, and that He has ultimate control over all things. Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly, and Christ will judge all men in righteousness. We believe that God will fulfill all future promises and prophecies regarding the second coming of Jesus.  
Rev. 19:11-16  |  Jn. 14:3  |  Zech. 14:4

SOCIAL JUSTICE

God loves justice. He commands His children to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves.  Additionally, He chooses to accomplish His justice through the awareness, advocacy and action of His children, who work for justice in actively loving all vulnerable, marginalized and afflicted people.  
Is. 61:8  |  Prov. 31:8-9  |  Prov. 24:11-12